Are They Truly That Stupid?

This is a copy of the letter I sent to Sen’s Roy Blunt and Claire McCaskill, and Rep. Vicki Hartzler:

S.968 PROTECT IP Act of 2011
I am writing as your constituent in the 4th Congressional district of Missouri. I oppose S.968 - PROTECT IP Act of 2011.

This bill has no place in government. It will enable arbitrary and bold-faced censorship of America’s freedom of speech under the guise of protecting intellectual property rights, which do not warrant government legislative protection. They fall clearly under tort law, which currently and effectively allows the owner of such rights remedies for offenses in civil courts.

I was totally amazed to note that Sen. Blunt signed on as a co-sponsor of this bill and if it passes I will have no choice but to sign off as a supporter of his. $341,700(*) to support the bill???

The current administration in Washington has repeatedly used executive fiat to seize control over areas in which it has no constitutional mandate. This is another such area. The ability to arbitrarily shut down Internet sites based on content is nothing less than censorship of the free speech rights of Americans, and any Senator or Congressman who supports such actions is no friend of liberty.

I implore you, Senators and Congressmen, to cast your votes in favor of liberty, in favor of free speech and against any measure that would allow control over internet content.

This bill is no more about protecting the internet than the Patriot Act was about patriotism or the Health Care Act was about health care. It’s about government control, and this measure will allow whichever party is in the majority to set censorship guidelines favorable to themselves and their re-election and to shut down flow of dissenting information.

I encourage you to visit this link and then respond accordingly.

Note: While I singled out Senator Blunt in the letter it should be noted that all three of my D.C. reps have accepted cash. It’s just that Roy’s receivings far outstrip Claire’s and Vicki’s. It’s interesting to note that passage of this bill could shut down the Open Congress website.

BTW: The vote on this bill is scheduled for immediately after the legislators return from Christmas break later this month.

Knowledge is power. Information is the key to knowledge. Cut off the your enemies’ flow of information and you cut off their power.